The costs of our weekend NY trip
Ok, we didn’t go into Manhattan (the Tri-borough bridge was jammed), so our weekend trip to NY wasn’t too hard on the wallet. Here’s a rundown of our expenditures (rounded off):
- Hotel Room: $110. We got 1 night at the Hilton Garden Inn about 3 miles from the lake (where the wedding was). The wedding couple reserved a block of rooms from the nearby Marriott for $130 (plus tax), but my friend Shawn found a deal at the Hilton that ended up saving us about $30-40 for that one night. That one night’s savings was spent on…
- Tolls: $40. Normally we try to avoid toll roads, but in the interest of time, we took I-95, the NJ Turnpike, Goethals Bridge and the Verrazzano Bridge. Luckily I got a chunk of cash at the ATM before the trip. The biggest chunk was going home across the Verrazzano and paying a $9 toll. Ugh!
- Car Rental: $75. We got a VW Jetta (I didn’t know Enterprise rents European cars), which returned decent gas mileage and proved for a much better drive than in our Malibu. Plus, we’re saving mileage on the Malibu since we’re selling it.
- Dining: $30. We packed our lunch for the drive up Saturday and ate in the car. Dinner was at the wedding. We ate breakfast the next day at a diner on Long Island with friends, and then stopped in New Jersey for lunch with some other friends.
- Gas: $42. I got gas just before the Jersey Turnpike for $2.61 per gallon. And then on the way home, I found another place for $2.55 per gallon. How can Jersey stations charge so little and still have full service?
Total Cost: About $300. That was pretty much 8am Saturday till 5pm Sunday (when we got home).
Ok,.. two observations.
One: $30 for two meals at two different restaurants? That’s pretty good considering tip and all.
Two: $2.55/gallon for gas?! Man,.. as much as I love California, the price of gas here doesn’t help. (of course, we don’t have toll roads, so there ya go) I’m lucky if I find gas for under $3.15. As it is I’m supposed to be pumping premium into my Acura TL (Yeah I know you had one too, C.D.), but I always pump regular for the price.
Well,.. hope you had a great trip.
Rob, I mentioned the price of gas specifically because it was so low. Here in DC, I’m paying between 2.85-3.00. And you shouldn’t be using low octane in that engine!
For the meals, Stacie only got a muffin for breakfast (it was huge). That helped keep it down. Plus we ate light as we were on the road.
Meh,.. I’m not concerned. It’s a ’99 TL that’s a Salvaged title and paid for completely. The low octane isn’t going to reduce the life that much, if at all. And I’m planning on running this car into the ground – not selling it and counting on the potential resale value.
So, I’m impressed with your vacation tally! I wanted to comment on the price of gas…it IS cheaper pretty much everywhere else other than NYS, which is where I live. I just paid $2.99 and that is cheaper than it has been in MONTHS. I swear NY is the most over taxed state in the whole union!